


Demons, Witches and Daemons

by spirithorse



Category: Code Geass, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-10
Updated: 2012-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-30 21:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/336302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Crossover/Fusion thingy prompt. So how would things work out in the Code Geass storylines if people could see/interact with other people's Daemons?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Day a New Demon Was Born

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Code Geass kinkmeme and is basically if daemons were inserted into the Code Geass world.

He froze at an uncomfortable tug to his chest, turning around and scanning the dark tunnel for the one who had caused it. His eyes widened when he realized that she was nowhere to be found. "Shit. Kasumi? Kasumi!"

"Here." The Shikoku peeked out from a crevice in the wall, wiggling through the crack before bounding back over to his side.

He knelt, rubbing the top of her head and wishing that he could take his gloves off; he really wanted to feel her fur right now. But he was on a mission, and there could be poison gas in these tunnels. Wincing at the reminder, he pulled out the second gas mask, offering it to Kasumi.

She shook her head and whined. "I can't smell with that thing on."

"That's the point."

"We'll find whatever it is much quicker this way. " She glanced up at him and whined. "Besides, we sound funny with those things on."

He laughed and rubbed her head again before standing up, clipping the mask back onto his belt before gesturing for Kasumi to go first, the Shikoku wagging her tail before putting her nose to the ground. "I smelt it back there."

"What?"

"A truck." Kasumi gave him a long look. "Why would a truck be in subway tunnels? That's why I was in there." She paused to sniff at the ground, carefully padding forward, her attempt at being silent foiled by the bulletproof vest that she wore and the pack carefully belted around her middle. Kasumi growled, pacing in front of him for a moment before jerking her head up. "This way."

She bolted before he had a chance to reach down at stop her. "Kasumi! Wait!" She didn't seem to hear him.

He cursed under his breath and took off at a run, wanting to avoid the pain of having his daemon go too far from him.

* * *

Lelouch stared at his phone, not really comprehending what was on the screen before he snapped it shut and shoved it back in his pocket. Verisia whined and pawed at his arm, scrambling up into his lap when Lelouch lifted it. "No chance of calling Rivalz?"

"No." He began to stroke her, his hand following the familiar path down her back and all the way to the end of her tail, Verisia pressing close to him. They were in a bad situation, stuck in a truck driven by a terrorist, and they had no idea where they were going. Lelouch sighed, letting his hand rest on the fox's back. "No service down here."

Verisia tipped her head up. "Subway?"

"Probably."

Her tail twitched, Lelouch waiting patiently for his daemon to scan the back of the truck. Verisia remained silent for a long moment before nodding. "There's a kind of ventilation shaft, right behind the gas container." Lelouch stood up, cradling the fox in his arms and walking unsteadily across the cargo space.

There was a duct, leading to the front of the cabin, or so Lelouch assumed. It was probably used to keep the back of the truck somewhat cool since this wasn't a refrigerated truck. He reached up towards the vent, having to stand up on the tips of his toes and strain upward to pull the grate out. Verisia took advantage of his distraction to clamber up onto his head, balancing there carefully.

Lelouch winced as he felt her claws dig into his scalp, pressing his hands against the wall of the truck and remaining still. "What do you plan to do?"

"Crawl through and watch the driver." She peered down at him, presenting Lelouch with an almost comical view of her face. "If he seems sympathetic, I'll ask him to let us out."

"And, if he doesn't?"

"I'll threaten his daemon and let us out of here."

"We'd break our necks."

"He'll slow down. I'll make sure of it." Verisia gave him her best approximation of a grin before settling down on his head, ready to jump. "Alright, ready when you are."

"Right." Lelouch braced himself, trying to hold himself steady as the fox shifted on his head. It was going to hurt a bit when she jumped, and then he would have to stick close to the wall to keep himself as close as possible to her as she moved around the cab of the truck.

"Going." She never got the chance to jump, both of them upset when the truck crashed into something.

Lelouch was thrown forward against the wall, hearing Verisia's yelp of pain before there was pressure on the top of his head, Lelouch crumpling against the wall before being thrown backwards into the canister of poison gas as the truck gave a final lurch and came to a stop.

He lay dazed on the ground, his head and back throbbing from where he had hit one of the metal protrusions on the side of the canister. He looked up at the sound of claws on metal, staring up as Verisia peered down. "Lelouch?"

"I'm alright." She huffed, shuffling in place as he carefully stood up, limping away from the canister to slump against the opposite wall.

"He says he's alright now. You could have broken your neck, Lelouch." Verisia jumped onto the stack of crates beside the canister, peering down at Lelouch from her perch. "Be more careful next time."

He rubbed the back of his neck, glaring at the daemon. "I can't just jump like you do. Besides it wasn't my fault." Verisia snorted and curled up on top of the boxes, flicking her tail in front of her nose. Lelouch watched her, trying not to smile fondly. Verisia cared for him in her own way, but she wouldn't come down to check to see if he was really alright for a few more minutes.

Lelouch let his hand drop to the ground, staring at the cab of the truck. "What was that? An accident? Or else…"

He tensed as he heard the door to his left opening up. Lelouch glanced over at Verisia, watching her slip back into the shadows, trying her best to hide the patches of white in her fur. He kept his gaze locked on his daemon as she stared at the door, watching her brown eyes move quickly as she scanned the area. After a long tense moment, she gave a nod. "I think it's alright."

"Good, then we use this chance to get out of here."

Lelouch got on his knees, peeking outside before carefully standing up. He checked to make sure that Verisia was right, ignoring her annoyed yip. He trusted her, but he also wanted to check himself, old habits died hard.

He allowed himself to relax a moment later, turning to look at the canister, running his hands over it.

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet, Verisia."

"Lelouch, we are getting out of here now and calling Rivalz to come and pick us up. We've run into the middle of a terrorist group without a plan."

"I'll think up a plan."

"Before or after they shoot you?" Verisia forgot all pretenses of hiding, standing up on the crate with the fur on her back bristling. "You're Britannian, Lelouch. They'll shoot first and-Move!"

He turned at her shout, only able to raise his arms to defend himself as a soldier came spinning at him. Lelouch grunted as he felt the kick land on his arms, falling over onto his back. He pushed himself off the floor only to be pinned down as the soldier calmly straddled him.

Lelouch tried to struggle, reaching up to pull the hand that the soldier had planted around his neck away. "Are you Britannian?"

The impassive helmet split at the bottom, the gas mask falling away, revealing a chin and a mouth. Lelouch continued to try and pull away, stopping when the hand squeezed and the soldier spoke. "That's enough mindless murder."

His eyes widened. "Wait, I'm not one of-"

"Planning to use poison gas? Don't play dumb with me!"

"Get off of him!" Verisia leapt from her place on the crates, landing beside Lelouch and snarling. The soldier hesitated for a moment, staring at Verisia. The fox bristled. "Didn't you hear me? I said get-"

The soldier's daemon took that moment to jump into the truck, ducking easily around the two humans on the floor. The dog lunged at Verisia, the fox snapping at it but never straying far from Lelouch. She was easily caught by the soldier's daemon, the dog snatching her up and pinning her down to the ground.

Lelouch flinched at the pain that Verisia felt, but took advantage of the soldier's distraction to kick him, getting a solid hit on the soldier's knee. He was rewarded with a yelp from the dog and the pressure on his neck disappearing as the soldier scrambled to his feet and backed away. The dog followed its human a moment later, Lelouch taking the chance to gather up Verisia and stand up, carefully searching for wounds as he held her close.

When he was sure that she was fine, he turned his attention to the soldier, surprised that the man was actually staying still. He clutched Verisia closer to him, feeling her stick her head under his chin, her favorite place to settle when she was seeking comfort. "I'm not here by choice. And if that's poison gas it was made in Britannia, wasn't it?"

He was sure that the soldier muttered something, too focused on the fear and anger that came from himself and his daemon to bother to figure out what it was. "Mindless murder? Then why don't you just obliterate Britannia?"

"Lelouch, it's me." The soldier pulled his helmet off, revealing a familiar mop of brown curly hair and green eyes. The helmet was carefully tucked under his arm as the soldier smiled. "Suzaku."

He stared at his friend, trying to process what was happening.

Suzaku had lived, he had survived through that nightmare that was Japan after the Britannian invasion and Nunnally and Lelouch had left. Lelouch could still picture his last glimpse of his friend, Suzaku standing in the middle of a destroyed field, watching Lelouch as he was driven away with one hand clutching Kasumi's scruff.

Verisia wiggled out of his hold and dropped to the floor, dashing across the space between him and Suzaku to sniff noses with Suzaku's daemon, her way of confirming that what the man said was true. Lelouch turned his attention to Suzaku's daemon, some part of him surprised that Kasumi looked exactly the way she had seven years ago when Suzaku had come running up to their storeroom, saying that they had to leave. He had just thought that she had stayed that way to be able to better protect the three of them as they had traveled across the war torn island. Verisia and Nunnally's Asri had taken on the forms of a grizzly bear and a lion, respectively, for the same reason. But, apparently, something had caused Kasumi to settle that night.

That was a little disturbing, Suzaku had barely been ten for a month when Kasumi had settled, most daemons took on their permanent forms at thirteen. But that was only the second most disturbing thing about is friend. The first was… "Y-you became a Britannian soldier?"

"Yeah." Lelouch wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if he wanted Suzaku to sound embarrassed. "And what about you? You're a-"

"What are you saying?" Lelouch tensed, Verisia tensing as well. She backed away from Kasumi, heading for Lelouch. She managed to get part of the way between the two of them before the canister started to open.

Lelouch turned to stare at it, his eyes widening as Suzaku lunged at him. He felt something press against his face before Suzaku tackled him to the ground, glancing to the side as Kasumi pulled Verisia down as well, pressing herself over the fox as a form of protection. Lelouch's attention was caught by the canister again, watching as a golden light pulsed from the center before dissolving.

"That's not poison gas." Lelouch felt Suzaku shift, the soldier now lying mostly on top of him as they stared at the green haired girl that struggled to stand, ending up falling over as the straight jacket restricted her.

Suzaku was up on his feet first, Kasumi at his side as they went over to stand by the canister, Suzaku shaking his head before looking back at Lelouch. "What is it?"

Lelouch could only shrug, carefully getting back on his feet as Suzaku picked the girl up and carried her outside of the truck, Lelouch following closely. They both knelt on the ground, their daemons lying nearby and exchanging surprised glances.

Suzaku was the first to touch her, checking the buckles on her uniform as he tried to work out how to get them undone, Lelouch watching him as nausea built. Where was it? Everyone had one and it wasn't in the canister. So where was it? And how could Suzaku be touching her and not reacting? It was taking all Lelouch had to sit next to her.

"Lelouch, help me with this."

"S-Suzaku, she doesn't-"

"Hm?" He looked up at Lelouch, glancing into the truck before looking back at the girl and pulling his hands away. "Oh, her daemon? I assumed she was a witch."

Lelouch stared at Suzaku in shock. Witches weren't exactly common, not with the dual persecution of the Magisterium and Britannia. Most of the clans had been wiped out entirely or forced into hiding. Because of this, people kept their daemons even closer; they could get pulled in by the police if their daemon wandered too far, a classic sign of a witch.

What surprised Lelouch most about this was how unconcerned Suzaku seemed about this. Lelouch shivered, Verisia coming over to rub her head against his hand, an attempt to calm him down.

Suzaku looked up from trying to undo the straps, glancing at Verisia before giving Lelouch an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I know someone whose bond with their daemon had been stretched because of an accident in her childhood. I'm kind of used to this."

With that, he went back to work; Lelouch managing to rouse himself from his shocked stupor to reach up and begin to undo the straps of the outfit, Verisia curled up close to him. They worked in silence for a while, Lelouch finally able to get over how wrong the girl felt because of her missing daemon, glancing up at Suzaku as the soldier carefully unzipped the bottom of the suit to free the girl's legs, suddenly annoyed.

Suzaku had said something about poison gas before, which meant that he had been sent down with that report. Someone in the chain of command had lied to cover this up. Lelouch looked up at Suzaku, struggling with the stiff buckles that kept part of the outfit over the girl's face. "Tell me the truth, Suzaku. Poison gas? This girl?"

"Hey, it's what they told us in the briefing. I swear." Suzaku sat back on his knees with a frown, opening his mouth like he was about to say something when a shout drew their attention.

"Stinking monkey! Being an honorary Britannian will not excuse you."

Verisia moved to stand in front of Lelouch, Lelouch feeling her struggle to keep herself looking neutral. Neither of them wanted to attract the attention of the soldier's daemons. Verisia would have been torn to pieces in moments by the array of Dobermans and Mastiffs that were snarling at them.

Lelouch focused on the captain, his gaze landing briefly on the black Belgian Shepherd Dog that was standing by the officer's side. He shifted his hold on the girl, about to reach out for Suzaku only to discover that his friend had jogged over to face the captain, Kasumi slinking after him, the Shikoku shooting longing glances back at Lelouch and Verisia.

"But sir, I was told this was poison gas."

"How dare you question orders?" Both Suzaku and Kasumi cringed, Lelouch's eyes widening at that. Neither Suzaku nor Kasumi were acting right. The Suzaku that he had known would have glared at the man, and Kasumi wouldn't be standing with her head lowered and her tail between her legs, a painfully artificial show of submission that no one else seemed to recognize.

The captain seemed pleased with this display, clasping his hands behind his back as his daemon stopped glaring at Kasumi. "However, in light of your outstanding military achievements I'm going to be lenient." The captain pulled something out from behind him, Verisia growling at the flash of light off metal. "Private Kururugi, take this and execute the terrorist."

"But he's not a terrorist." Suzaku was obviously struggling not to look at him, but Kasumi was drifting slightly behind her human, placing herself between Lelouch and the rest of the soldier's daemons. Kasumi would have a better time against the daemons, but she still wouldn't be enough to prevent them from being killed. Lelouch swallowed and rested a trembling hand on his daemon, the other still wrapped firmly around the girl's shoulders. "He's a civilian who got caught up in all this."

"You insubordinate little-That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty and life to Britannia?"

"Suzaku…" Lelouch tightened his grip on Verisia's fur. They would be in more trouble if they revealed that they knew Suzaku, it would bring up questions about his past and, maybe, get him brought to the wrong people.

"Yes but…I can't."

"What?"

"I won't, sir. I won't shoot a civilian." Suzaku turned to look at Lelouch with a smile, Lelouch and Verisia relaxing at that. It was too easy to fall back into their normal pattern around Suzaku. That smile meant that everything was fine; Suzaku had used it when they were crossing fields of dead bodies and he and Kasumi had scouted ahead. "I can't follow your orders, sir."

"Very well."

Lelouch saw the captain lift the gun, grasping it properly before aiming it at the place where Suzaku's bulletproof vest didn't cover the shirt. Suzaku's eyes widened, Lelouch feeling Verisia slip out from under his hand just before the gun was fired.

"Suzaku!"

He expected the crack of the gun being fired, but not the squelching sound as the bullet hit flesh soon afterward.

Suzaku dropped to the ground, Kasumi whining and slumping as well, Lelouch's heart beating faster when he saw that Kasumi hadn't burst into a shower of gold particles. It meant that Suzaku was still alive, at least for now.

Verisia dashed across the floor, nearly crashing into Kasumi before starting to nip and nudge at her, Lelouch hearing her frantic cries to their friend. She gave him a few helpless looks, pawing at the muzzle of the Shikoku, that enough to get Lelouch to move, Verisia's frantic worry spilling over into him.

It was a simple matter to rush over to Suzaku, kneeling down to pull his friend's head into is lap, his fingers shaking as he felt for a pulse. There was one there, but it was slow, too slow to be healthy. But at least Suzaku was alive.

Lelouch let out a shaky sigh of relief, grabbing fistfuls of Suzaku's shirt as he tried to calm himself back down. Suzaku was still alive, for now, but they had to get him help fast. He was already bleeding out through the wound, and there was no telling what the bullet had ruptured. It was just a matter of getting a radio and…

There was a decisive click as the gun was cocked.

"What an appropriate location for a terrorist to meet his end."

Lelouch looked up at the captain, feeling the cold metal of the gun against his forehead. He swallowed and glared up at the captain, hating the man's smile. "You scum."

The captain frowned, Lelouch glorying in his small victory before the gun was turned around, Lelouch grunting at the end slammed into his head.

He reached up to press a hand against his aching head, the soldiers taking advantage of that to pull him to his feet and shove him away from Suzaku. Lelouch stumbled backwards, his hand shaking as he saw them kick Suzaku out of their way, his friend discarded like a piece of trash.

A sudden bout of cursing drew his attention to where Verisia was, the fox perched on top of Kasumi, snarling at the daemons and men who tried to approach them. It was an impressive display from the little daemon, but not enough to deter them for long.

He expected a daemon to force Verisia away. He didn't expect the captain to simplely reach down and pick up Verisia.

Lelouch fell to his knees at the touch of the man's hand on his daemon, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering even as Verisia went limp in the man's hold. He clawed at his arms, needed the horrible feeling to just go away, that and the nausea that was building up. He just wanted the captain to stop touching her. "P-please…"

The captain laughed, throwing Verisia at Lelouch.

Lelouch rushed to catch her, missing by a couple of inches and shouting in pain as Verisia landed hard on the concrete. They didn't waste time checking to see if she was alright, Verisia fleeing into his arms. Lelouch cradled her close, ducking his head to press his face into her fur as he tried to forget the horrible feeling of violation that he had gotten when the captain had touched her.

He looked up as the captain laughed, feeling Verisia press herself closer, the fox giving an unconvincing snarl towards the captain before pressing the top of her head against the underside of Lelouch's chin. That just caused the man to laugh again, leveling the gun at Lelouch. "You call us scum and then beg for mercy? You're a weak boy." Lelouch flinched at that, his gaze never leaving the gun that was pointed at is forehead. "This will be a mercy, an eradication of bad genes. Want to beg again, boy?"

Lelouch shook his head, his hold on Verisia tightening. He didn't want to die; he had too many people to live for. Nunnally needed him to take care of her, to be her family. Suzaku was bleeding out just a few feet from him; he needed to be taken care of. And he had just found him. But he couldn't beg, not again. It had hurt his pride enough just to stutter out that word once, he wouldn't do it again.

Movement from his right startled Lelouch. The girl stood up and threw herself between him and the captain. "He mustn't die!"

The gun went off a second later, Lelouch falling back and nearly letting go of Verisia as the girl tumbled to the ground, blood pooling around her from where her skull had cracked when she hit the cement. "You shot her."

He vaguely heard the click as the gun was cocked again, Lelouch too busy staring at the blood that was leaking out around the girl, trying to scoot away from it. It was disgusting and messy and too much like his mother. Lelouch squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his hold on Verisia, trying to calm himself down. He wouldn't die like this; he would die glaring at his captives, not a frightened teenage boy.

Lelouch swallowed and went to stand, surprised when Verisia scrambled up onto his shoulders, steadying herself here. She leaned forward to nuzzle his jaw, using the sign of affection to hide the fact that she was whispering in his ear. "I don't want to die alone."

He reached up to pet her, gasping as the girl on the floor moved, one of her hands wrapping around his wrist. Lelouch jerked, feeling Verisia trying to keep her balance as he moved. Then he couldn't feel her claws digging into his shoulders anymore, he couldn't feel anything, couldn't see anything but white.

Lelouch turned, just seeing more of the endless white around him, one hand reaching up to check his shoulders for Verisia, panicking a bit when he couldn't find her. She had to be there unless the captain had taken her again, but he would have felt that as well.

"You don't want it to end here, do you?"

He froze at the sound of the voice, feeling that it sounded much too amused for the situation that he was in. But his mind couldn't work past the fact that he couldn't find Verisia, and that it didn't hurt to have her so far away.

"After all you've sacrificed, after how hard you tried. You still have a reason for living."

He turned in an attempt to find the voice, but came up with nothing, settling for wrapping his arms around himself and just listening.

"I propose a deal. In exchange for power you must agree to make my wish come true. Accept this contract and its conditions and, while living in the world of humans, you will live apart from them. A different providence. A different time. A different life. The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude. If you are prepared for this-"

"I hereby accept the terms of your contract!" Lelouch cut the voice off before it could finish, shaking. He could get out of this, continue to take care of Nunnally and make sure that Suzaku was properly treated. He could get revenge on the man that had dared to touch his daemon. And he could find out who killed his mother.

He blinked rapidly when the white suddenly disappeared, leaving him in darkness for a moment until the sharp press of Verisia's claws on his shoulder brought him back. Lelouch looked down at the girl, surprised to see that she hadn't moved. He could have sworn…

Lelouch glanced up at the gun that was aimed at his head, raising a hand to steady Verisia as he stood. "Say… how should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?"

The gun waved for a moment before the captain steadied it, his daemon growling. "Are you some kind of radical?"

Lelouch couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up, feeling Verisia tense under his hand. She quieted a moment layer, laying down over his shoulders with her tail draped down his chest. Lelouch could almost feel the smirk from her as she glared down at the captain's daemon, the dog snarling louder. He had to raise his voice to talk over the snarling daemon. "What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Perhaps you've finally realized, the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed."

There was a slight burning in his left eye, Lelouch tightening his hold on Verisia as he felt her nearly slip from him, feeling her tremble under his hand. He didn't know what was making her react like that, but he would find out later. Right now his whole attention belonged to the power that he had been given, concentrating entirely on the men in front of him. "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you, all of you, die!"

For a moment Lelouch thought that it hadn't worked, trying to remain calm as he watched the soldiers take out their guns. He barely heard Verisia whisper into his ear "Look at their daemons" before the captain was laughing.

The man brought the gun up to the side of his head. "Happily, your highness! Fire!"

Ten guns when off, Lelouch blinking as some of the blood splattered on him, watching the soldier's daemons explode into golden particles. He stared at them until they disappeared, shivering at the memory of the look of horror on the daemon's faces in the moment that the guns were fired.

He was snapped out of his daze by a whine from Verisia, quickly dropping to his knees and rifling through the captain's belongings for a radio. He couldn't forget about Suzaku. A glance to the side showed that Verisia had gone back to prodding Kasumi, probably trying to get her up again. But at least she was still there; it meant that Suzaku still had a chance.

"Who is this?"

Lelouch nearly dropped the radio at the sound of the voice, glancing at Verisia before clearing his throat, letting his voice waver and crack. "I-is this the military?"

"I'll ask you again, who is this?"

Lelouch licked his lips. "I-It was just a dare from one of my classmates, to walk into the ghetto and get out alive. But then there were these terrorists and they said that had poison gas."

"Poison gas?"

"Yes sir. They threatened me and I ran. I found a small group of Britannian soldiers, but they were shot. Oh God, they're all dead."

"Calm down, son." Lelouch flinched at the fatherly tone the man on the line took, making a face. "Can you tell us where you are?"

"I…I don't-"

"Activate one of the tracking devices on the soldiers' vests."

"A-alright." Lelouch carefully walked over to Suzaku, searching a moment before finding the button, pressing it and allowing himself a moment to check his friend's pulse. "Done. Wait, I think one's still alive!"

"Alive?"

"I can feel a pulse."

"Alright, son, we'll be down there. Just stay where you are."

Lelouch stammered out a reply, switching off the radio before throwing it away from him. He would be leaving now, despite the urge to stay and wait to make sure they got Suzaku. He wasn't going to risk being found by Britannian soldiers.

A soft touch to his hand got his attention, Lelouch crouching down on the floor to gather his daemon in his arms, glancing between Suzaku and the girl before walking off down the tunnel.

Verisia scrambled at his chest before slumping. "They can't find us."

"No. For Nunnally's sake we have to hide."

She didn't respond for a while, Lelouch content to carry her through the tunnels until they got out, hoping that it would get rid of that horrible feeling that still lingered in his veins. As if reading his mind, Verisia turned around, stretching so she could rest her paws on his left shoulder to lick his cheek, getting the soldier's blood off before licking the skin under his eye. She continued for a while before pulling back. "That felt weird."

"Did it hurt?"

"No. It just felt like you went away for a while, but I wasn't worried." She tipped her head to the side, her eyes narrowing as she thought. "We can do this."

Lelouch nodded. "This power moves our plans forward."

"We can do this." Verisia bounced excitedly in his arms, her eyes gleaming. "We can destroy Britannia!"


	2. His Name is Zero

"So what do you think of him?" Kallen looked up as Ohgi spoke to her, still absently playing with the tip of Hiroto's tail. She let the Margay's tail go and leaned forward, suddenly bone tired now that all the adrenaline from the rescue had disappeared.

Before she even got a chance to answer, Tamaki spoke up. "Where's the guy's daemon?"

No one answered his question, Kallen looking up at the sudden proliferation of coughs that filled the room. Even she didn't know the answer to that, focusing on her own daemon. She had to admit that Tamaki's question was one of the things that she really wanted to know about the masked man named Zero, aside from his identity. Everyone had a daemon, one that couldn't go far from them. No one was willing to be seen without their daemon close by in case they were mistaken for a witch. Kallen shivered at the memory of the torture that Britannia and the Magisterium had inflicted on the witches.

"Come on. Someone tell me that they don't find it weird?"

"He's our best chance at winning this war." Ohgi spoke up, trying to ease the tension. "I don't think we should be questioning that."

"It's exactly what we should be questioning!"

Tamaki's daemon snarled at Ohgi's, the Akita refusing to rise to the bait. A few of the other members' daemons did though, glaring at each other and making aggressive advances to try and ease the tension between their humans.

Kallen kept a good hold on Hiroto the entire time, the Margay seeming to be content to sprawl in her lap, his tail twitching. She waited for his tail to stop before looking at him expectantly, Hiroto sighing and shifting on her lap to look at her. "He has magic."

"Don't be silly."

"Didn't you feel the tingle up our spines while we were driving forward?"

Kallen nodded slowly in agreement. There had been something strange just before that Britannian had allowed Suzaku to go. But one strange incident in the midst of an operation like that didn't mean anything. "Magic doesn't exist anymore. Witches don't exist anymore. It was just our imagination. Besides, who ever heard of a male witch?"

"Well, he's using something." Hiroto huffed and glared up at her.

"And how do you know?"

"Instinct." That got another shrug out of the Margay. "Ohgi's daemon and she'll probably tell you the same. It was definitely something."

Kallen watched him nod for a while, her hands clenching by her sides. "But do you trust him?"

To her annoyance, Hiroto just shrugged and sunk down on her lap. Still, he couldn't hide his uneasiness from her. "That's up to you, in the end."

She glared at him before looking up at the rest of the group, quickly coming to a decision. "Oghi said that he would win us this war. So I trust him, missing daemon or not."

"Then I trust him." He opened one eye and flicked an ear. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Kallen rolled her eyes and scratched the top of his head.

* * *

"Hold still." Suzaku sucked in a quick breath as the masked man came close to him, feeling the blade of the tool close to his skin. It took all he had not to shake, a combination of the heavy tool so close to his neck and the fact that this man didn't have a daemon. He was used to the absences of witches daemons, the woman who had taken him after Lelouch and Nunnally had been taken away had been a witch in hiding. But this man's daemon should have come back by now. After all that confusion on the street, the daemon should have come looking for its human to make sure that it was alright.

He flinched as the blade scraped against his skin for a moment before the shock collar snapped off. Suzaku rubbed his neck, kicking the thing away before carefully unbuckling the prison suit, feeling too choked by it.

The tool was offered to him, Suzaku carefully bending down to cut the identical shock collar from around Kasumi's neck, throwing it away from them and running his hands over her. He couldn't feel any pain from them through the bond, not any that he could clearly recognize as hers, but he wanted to check to be sure. She leaned eagerly into his caresses, Suzaku eventually giving up and pressing his forehead against the top of her head and wrapping his arms around her.

Kasumi seemed to understand, shuffling closer to him and placing her paws on his legs, whispering the lyrics of a nursery rhyme in Japanese to calm him.

Suzaku smiled and ruffled her fur before sitting up, feeling Kasumi press against his side. He tensed when he heard the man speak, watching as a portion of the cape moved like the man was going to reach for him, but stopped himself. "It looks like they treated you rather roughly."

Suzaku took a step back in case the man did reach for him, nudging his leg against Kasumi to keep her from growling. This man, Zero, didn't mean anything by it. He was just a concerned citizen, a concern citizen wearing a mask and claiming to have killed Prince Clovis. Suzaku would be lying if he didn't feel a bit relieved that someone had stepped forward to claim the prince's murder themselves, but he still felt put off by the cavalier way that this Zero had treated the bystanders on the parade route.

A hand moved out from under Zero's cape, Suzaku moving too slowly to stop Kasumi from leaping forward and baring her teeth, snarling at the masked man. To Suzaku's surprise, the man's hand didn't waver. "Join me."

"And kill more princes?" It came out more bitter than he meant it, but he was trying to remain calm while his daemon was obviously distressed.

Zero, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. "This is war. Why shouldn't I kill the enemy general?"

"And the people?" Kasumi snarled, drawing both men's attention to her. "What about all of them?"

"A bluff."

Kasumi stopped growling at that, looking back at Suzaku and looking embarrassed. "I-I should have…"

She should have known. Suzaku stared at her, wanting to shake his head. She should have known that the poison gas was a fake when Zero released it. There had been enough time to check. Zero had taken the chance to scoop him up, but had left Kasumi to run on her own. He felt his clenched fists tremble as he stared down at his daemon. Kasumi had to have known, and yet she had let Zero steal them away.

He turned around, ignoring her whine. "Thank you for saving me. But my court marshal starts in an hour."

"Suzaku…"

"Kasumi." He heard her whimper, turning his head to watch the Shikoku slink to his side. He wasn't really angry with her, more shocked that she had let this man get away with so much. This was the kind of person that they were trying fight against, the people who just used the common people as an end to a means. "If you want to join him…"

"No." She sidled up to him, pressing her head to his head. "I was scared, Suzaku. If they decided to execute you, I would have had to watch. I don't want to watch."

Suzaku relented, kneeling down to allow her to clamber into his lap, her paws braced against his shoulders as she pressed her forehead to his. "I don't want to join him, Suzaku. I want peaceful change as much as you do."

"I know. I'm sorry." He swallowed, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Kasumi nodded before pushing away from him, standing straight and looking back at Zero, Suzaku standing up as well. He was sure that the masked man was looking at them incredulously, but Zero wouldn't understand, they had to serve the people to make up for what they had taken from them. Suzaku paused long enough to brush his fingers over is daemon's head before turning away.

"But you'll die!"

He froze for a moment at the masked man's outburst, a small smile on his face. "I don't mind."

Kasumi twitched, looking up at him. This was the one thing they had never quite agreed on. Kasumi wanted to spend the rest of their lives serving the people; she thought that was enough to make up for what he had done. But that wouldn't be enough. He had taken a life, so his life was forfeit, but he was going to make sure it was for the betterment of Area 11. Suzaku's only regret was that it would end up killing Kasumi too. She hadn't done anything, it had all been his fault.

"Don't be an idiot."

Suzaku chuckled at that, shrugging. "An old friend of mine used to tell me that; he'd say I was a fool. It's my weakness I guess. I'd try to bring you in, but you'd just end up killing me. And, if I die, it'll be in the service of the people."

He watched Kasumi give a shaky nod before she started walking ahead of him, scouting out the best way to get out of the building. She paused to wait for him, waiting until Suzaku's fingers were buried in her fur before beginning to guide him through the rubble.

* * *

Lelouch didn't even wait for Suzaku to get completely out of sight before he threw off the mask, hearing it clatter on the ground as he gasped for air. He fell onto his knees, turning his head to try and find the direction where the pain lessened. He had lost Suzaku, the one person that he could count on and now he couldn't find his daemon. "V-Verisia? Verisia!"

He curled up in a ball against the nearest chunk of concrete, wrapping his cape around him and he shivered. It had seemed like the best idea at the time, to keep Verisia away to keep Kallen from recognizing him from school. But it had been easier at the junk yard; the fox had just crouched in one of the nearby piles, the smell enough to keep Ohgi and Kallen's daemons from noticing. During the rescue, it had become more difficult. She had been hiding a good distance from the parade grounds and running to keep up with him. Lelouch didn't even know where she was at the moment.

It had seemed so easy when they had talked about it and agreed to it, but practice was different. He was amazed that he had been able to carry out a conversation with Suzaku with out screaming for her. But Suzaku's stubbornness had been enough for him to focus his anger on that instead of the pain from the pull in his bond with Verisia.

It had amounted to nothing in the end. Suzaku was going to die and he had lost Verisia.

Lelouch didn't know how long he lay there, just knowing that it had been long enough for his muscles to ache from shivering. Then he felt the pain ease, sitting up abruptly and looking around. He thought he heard a few muffled shouts, trying to get to his knees only to slump against the piece of rubble again.

He could definitely hear the sound of claws on stone and a soft grunt, Lelouch turning to look towards the gaping hole in the wall of the theater only to be rammed into from the opposite direction. He barely had time to recognize his daemon before she was scrambling up his body, biting into the mask that he had over his face and pulling it down before curling around his neck, nuzzling and licking at his skin.

Lelouch's hands trembled as he held her close to him, partially aware of the fact that he was crying, pressing his face into her fur and breathing her in. He didn't care that she smelled too flowery (the effect of the fake poison gas) and like dust, she was here and he hadn't lost her.

"We lost him." His voice cracked over the words despite his attempt to keep it steady. Verisia didn't seem to notice, turning around until she could tuck her head under his chin, settling down draped over his front with a sigh. "Suzaku went back."

"You can't win them all." She whispered the words into his neck, still nuzzling him. "Sorry, Lelouch, our plan didn't work."

He swallowed, forcing himself to focus. Now that Verisia was back, he could. Everything was much clearer without that lingering pain.

"No, it worked perfectly. We have the terrorist's group trust. A phase of our plan didn't work. We continue."

"Of course." She was silent for a while. "Nunnally will be worried."

"Right." He pulled her from him, pulling the black cloth back over his face before picking up his mask, relieved that he hadn't cracked it. He settled it over his head, turning to look at Verisia. "Stay out of sight, but close."

Verisia hesitated. "I will get easier, right?"

"I hope so."

* * *

Nunnally breathed a sigh of relief, reaching out to put the radio back. Suzaku was safe; the charges against him were being dropped. He wouldn't be killed because of what someone else had done.

Even better than all of that, he was alive.

She felt Asri's beak press against the side of her hand, the Red-Crowned Crane guiding her to an empty spot on the shelf. Nunnally fumbled with the radio for a moment before yawning.

"Perhaps we should go to bed."

She reached out for him, gently cupping her hand so Asri could press his head into it. She then stroked down his neck, smoothing out his ruffled feathers. "Brother isn't home yet. I want to stay up for him."

"We have a test tomorrow." Asri was trying to sound stern, but Nunnally could tell that she was winning.

"We only have one brother." She laughed when Asri gave her a gentle tap with his beak, his version of telling her off. Nunnally returned to stroking him after the chastisement was given. "I want to make sure he makes it home alright and-Do you hear that?"

She felt Asri turn away from her, listening as the crane crossed the room to peer at the door. "I think I do but-"

The both jumped at the sharp tap to the window, Asri hissing and moving back over to her.

Nunnally felt the brush of feathers against her arm, guessing that Asri had spread his wings to make himself look bigger. "What is it?"

"A crow."

"A crow?"

"A daemon." The correction was enough to make her shiver. Nunnally didn't know of anyone with a crow daemon. Sayoko's daemon was a black panther, and that daemon moved nearly silently. She reached out for Asri, biting her lip when he wasn't in reach.

"Does it need help?"

"He would like to be let in." There was a rush of wind as Asri ran past her, now standing between Nunnally and whoever was at the door. The person, no woman, laughed. "Don't be afraid. I'm a friend of Lelouch's."

"A friend?" Nunnally turned her wheelchair around. "You don't sound like any of his friends."

"Well, I'm a new one, one that he made a very special contract with."


	3. The Princess and the Soldier

'Case number 107, Private Suzaku Kururugi and his daemon, Kasumi, Area 11 Military Forces. In the murder of his highness, Prince Clovis you are no longer a suspect and hereby set free due to lack of evidence.'

Suzaku read the piece of paper over, his other hand clutching at his bag as he walked. He was still confused about what had happened. He had walked into his court marshal fully expecting to be punished for not bringing Prince Clovis' killer in, but he had just been let go.

Suzaku swallowed and tucked the piece of paper in his pocket, glancing down at Kasumi. "What happened?

"We're free." She wagged her tail. "Now we look for a school with a black and gold uniform and find Lelouch and Nunnally."

"No." Kasumi cringed at that, Suzaku watching her carefully as she tucked her tail between her legs. "We can't, it'll just bring them trouble."

"But-"

"We're Elevens, and easily recognized ones now. We don't want to give away their secret."

Kasumi ducked her head but nodded anyway. To protect Lelouch and Nunnally, they had to keep away; it was the only thing that would draw the attention away from the two of them.

Suzaku was so caught up in his own thoughts that he missed the fact that Kasumi had stopped, the Shikoku staring up at the building above them. He only stopped when she yelped; glancing back at his daemon as he heard someone shout, "Look out below!"

He got a glimpse of a girl plummeting down towards him, Suzaku dropping his bag and reaching out to catch her, nearly falling down himself as he took her full weight. He grunted, looking down at the girl he had caught, taking in her long pink hair and dress before managing to speak. "Uh, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry," she turned to look at him, Suzaku struck by the almost purple color of her eyes. "I wasn't aware that you were down here until I leaped."

"Well, don't worry-"

"Oh my." He looked up, watching the dove flutter down from the open window, getting a glimpse of a hastily made blanket rope, frowning when he realized that it didn't actually make it a fourth of the way down the building.

Suzaku helped the girl to her feet, Kasumi rushing over to his side to sniff at his legs, checking him for damage. He was too busy watching the dove circle around the girl's head before landing on her shoulder, listening to it chatter to her.

Kasumi bumped into his leg, making the move look like she had tripped over something, all the way down to the way that she glared at the pavement before crossing behind Suzaku to get to his other side. That was enough to get Suzaku to snap out of his reverie. "Huh? Is there something wrong?"

The girl stared at him for a moment, the dove suddenly still on her shoulder. It took a while for her to come up with an answer, the girl finally nodding. "Yes, there is something wrong."

Suzaku tensed at that, one hand reaching back for his cell phone. It would be in his bag, probably right under his sunglasses. He rooted around for it, still paying careful attention to the girl as she spoke. "The truth is that bad guys are chasing me. So, considering the circumstances, could you help me please?"

"Of course." The answer was out before he could think about it, his search for his cell phone coming up empty. Suzaku stared at the sunglasses in his hands before placing them on top of his head. He swung his bag back over his shoulder, waiting for the girl to start walking.

Once he was sure that both her and her daemon's attention was elsewhere, he flicked his fingers at Kasumi. It was a little signal they had worked out during their time in training and the few battles they had served in as cannon fodder. He would stay close to the girl, but she had permission to stray if something suspicious caught her eye. She would follow it for as their bond would allow, but it would be enough.

He saw his daemon nod, Suzaku putting on a smile and picking up his pace to walk beside the girl, letting her choose the direction that they were going.

He was surprised when she chose the park. It was an open area, not very crowded on a weekday long before lunch. And she wasn't nervous enough to be being chased by someone, not that Suzaku had believed it at first. Still, she could have just been paranoid.

Kasumi bounded away from his side, pretending to chase a squirrel up a tree, Suzaku catching the discrete glance that she threw behind him before she trotted back over to his side, pressing her head against his hand. "Don't smell anything. Don't see anything either."

"Thought so." Suzaku sighed and pulled the sunglasses over his eyes, wanting to avoid people recognizing him. "Just…keep alert."

She nudged his hand before trotting ahead again, her nose to the ground. Suzaku smiled as he watched her amble, part of her energy coming from the fact that they had both made it out of that court marshal alive, something to be thankful for.

He jumped as the girl touched his sleeve, giving him a sweet smile. "We haven't introduced ourselves, have we? My name is…Euphy."

"Euphy?"

"Yes." She nodded, raising her hand to her shoulder to allow the dove to step into it, Suzaku watching as the daemon fluffed his feathers. "And this is Shaia."

The dove gave him a long look before cooing, giving Suzaku a bow.

He was surprised at that, the daemon's obvious recognition of his presence strange. Usually, the daemons would introduce themselves to the daemons of the other person before turning their attention to the humans. Suzaku couldn't think of a time when he'd been introduced to a daemon through their human.

Still trying to wrap his mind around it, Suzaku managed to speak. "My name is-"

"Don't tell me, 'cause I already know it." Euphy smiled at him, stopping and rocking back onto her heels. "You're a celebrity. Son of Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, Private Suzaku Kururugi." Her eyes widened for a second, Suzaku turning around to see Kasumi bounding back, the Shikoku pausing by Suzaku and staring at Euphy.

Suzaku was surprised that Shaia didn't hop off of Euphy's shoulder to greet Kasumi, the dove sitting happily there as Euphy crouched down to look at Kasumi. "And this is your daemon? She's a beautiful Husky."

Suzaku didn't bother to correct her. Kasumi was registered as an Alaskan Husky on his paperwork, he had been afraid to apply to be an Honorary Britannian and have a blatantly Japanese daemon. Besides, she looked close enough to a Husky that he could get away with it. "Yeah. This is Kasumi."

"Such a pretty girl."

Kasumi shot a triumphant look back at Suzaku, ignoring his glare to stare up at Shaia, looking a bit disappointed when the dove didn't hop down from his perch, but it looked like he wanted to. Suzaku shook his head, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head again. "You lied before, there's no one chasing you at all, right?"

He turned to look at Euphy, surprised to see that she had wandered off to crouch in front of a stray cat. Suzaku exchanged a long look with Kasumi, the two of them knowing that anything with a cat ended badly for them, no matter how much they liked the creatures.

Suzaku just raised a shoulder in a shrug, walking over to where Euphy was, Kasumi grumbling under her breath. "You're going to get bitten."

* * *

Euphemia tipped her head back to watch Shaia fly about them, the dove taking the chance to stretch his wings after having to be cooped up for so long. She understood her sister's insistence about her own safety, but certainly Area 11 wasn't that bad. They couldn't all be terrorists, especially not the boy that she had found.

She smiled fondly as she looked at Suzaku, the teenager in question lying on his back under one of the trees in the park, Kasumi sprawled over his stomach. The two of them looked like they could be asleep, although Euphemia knew they weren't. They were probably just waiting for her to decide to move on, something that she was reluctant to do. She hadn't had this much fun in a long while.

Euphemia glanced down, running her fingers through the grass before taking a deep breath, watching as Kasumi looked up at her, Suzaku lazily sitting up and propping himself up on one elbow. Euphemia was struck by the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair, just to try and smooth it out. She blushed and looked away again. "Suzaku, would you mind taking me to one last place?"

"Your wish is my command, my lady." She looked up again as she heard him get up, taking the hand that he offered her and standing up. "Where to?"

She held out her hand, Shaia reluctantly coming down from his joyous circles around her head to land on her fingers. Euphemia smiled at him, lifting him so that he could perch on her shoulder. "Take me to Shinjuku."

Suzaku jerked in surprise at that, Euphemia frowning. It was almost too easy to slip into the tone of voice that she had to employ as a princess. "Suzaku Kururugi, please escort me there."

He hesitated for a bit longer before nodding, turning and starting to lead her through the city, Euphemia having to run to keep up.

"You asked too much." Shaia whispered in her ear, Euphemia hearing the sadness in his voice. "I thought you were trying to be friends."

"I am. But I have to see this."

"But we could be having fun."

"I-I know. But I have to see this, without Cornelia or one of her knights hovering over me."

Shaia ruffled his feathers but didn't say anything else, Euphemia knowing that he was disappointed with her. He had just begun to warm up to Kasumi, Euphemia had seen that by the way that he had actually started to attempt to talk to the other daemon instead of remaining on her shoulder in his usual shy manner.

Euphemia picked up her skirts and dashed to Suzaku's side, watching him realize that he had been walking to fast, thinking it was adorable how his green eyes widened. She blushed again, straightening out her clothes as she walked, trying to find the right words.

She settled on the first thing that came to her mind, hoping that it would coax Suzaku out of his silence. "You know, being here is just like being in Britannia, we feel right at home."

Euphemia saw his shoulders relax a bit at that, glad that she hadn't decided to pry into Shinjuku. Perhaps something horrible had happened to him there. After all, he was just a Private, an Eleven one at that. Euphemia gasped and pressed her hands over her mouth.

How could she have been so stupid? Clovis had ordered them to kill all of the Elevens in the ghetto, and Suzaku had been part of the troops there.

She was trying to figure out a way to apologize when Kasumi looked up at her, the Shikoku tipping her head to the side. "Are you two from the homeland?"

Shaia was the one that answered, leaning towards the other daemon. "We were students there up until last week."

"Last week?" That got Suzaku's attention, Euphemia glad that she wouldn't have to figure out a way to apologize to Suzaku for her careless demand. He slowed down, looking at her. "What are you doing now? And by student, do you mean high school? You can go sight seeing any time, can't you?"

Euphemia laughed, pushing a piece of hair back and feeling Shaia settle it back into place. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, I didn't mean it like that." She reached out to touch Suzaku's arm, surprised by her own daring. Euphemia blushed and let her hand drop, staring at the ground to avoid seeing the shock on his face. "You see today is the last day of our vacation, we wanted to see as much of Area 11 as we could because we would like to know what kind of place it is."

"Well, you didn't need us for that."

"No, I'm glad I could see it with you." Euphemia felt Shaia tighten his grip on her shoulder, reminding her of what she had just said. She cleared her throat and hurried to correct herself. "You and Kasumi."

"Is that right?" Suzaku smiled, the first real smile that she had seen on him and Euphemia couldn't quite stop herself from smiling back at him.


	4. At Least With Sorrow

Lelouch trudged down the hallway in the building they had appropriated as their base for the moment, heading to the room where C.C. had hidden herself as soon as the Gawain had been landed. He kept his gaze on the floor, but even then he was startled as Verisia appeared out of the shadows, looking worriedly at him. "Did you-"

"I had to. It was a mercy killing."

"I see." Verisia's tone of voice said she was lying. She didn't understand what had happened, because she had stayed far away from the massacre, as they had agreed when he had first become Zero. Verisia would stay away from any dangerous situation, for her own safety.

Lelouch turning and waiting for the doors to slide open before entering the room, relieved that C.C. wasn't looking at him. It meant that he could take off his mask. His Geass wouldn't affect his own daemon, he was sure about that.

"You're planning to attack the Tokyo Settlement?"

"Yes." For a moment, he forgot about his eye, looking up at C.C. only to quickly look away.

"Don't worry, it won't affect me."

"What? What won't affect her, Lelouch?"

He didn't answer his daemon, choosing to walk over to the couch and sit down on it, letting his mask drop to the cushions. Lelouch heard Verisia gasp; automatically shifting so she could climb into his lap. Lelouch smiled, ignoring her concerned expression, stroking the top of her head. "You two are the only two I can see now."

"What happened?" Verisia tried to reach his left eye, whimpering when he pushed her away. "Lelouch, I want to see. What's going on?"

"His Geass is permanent now. It's only a matter of time before it spreads."

Verisia turned to glare at C.C, snarling and dropping back to all fours on Lelouch's lap. "You did this to him."

"You both agreed to the contract."

"I didn't agree, only he did! What did you say to him during that time?"

"Nothing of consequence to you."

"Of course it is!" Verisia bristled. "You've infected him with something."

"Verisia, it's fine." He reached out to touch his daemon only to have her jump out of his lap, glaring at him.

"No it's not! That sigil isn't disappearing and Euphemia is dead. You killed her, Lelouch!"

"It was an accident!" He dropped is head into his hands. "She tried to resist the order at first. I thought she would…But I guess that it was just against her nature."

"A mercy killing?" Now she understood.

Lelouch could just nod, feeling the cushions shifting as Verisia made her way back into his lap, curling up there.

He didn't look up as he heard C.C. crossing the room, surprised when Verisia stood up on his lap and snarled, the daemon glaring at the witch. "Stay away from him. You've done enough."

To his surprise, C.C. kept her distance, her usual emotionless expression on her face.

Verisia seemed pleased by that, clambering up Lelouch's body until she could wrap herself around his neck, nuzzling his jaw.

* * *

Suzaku heard Kasumi's nails click on the floor as she made her way over, the Shikoku resting her head on his leg with a whine. He didn't look down at her, his whole attention focused on the body of the young woman resting on the bed. He swallowed, trying to work the lump out of his throat.

He envied all those people who could look at a corpse and think that the person was just sleeping. He had seen too many dead people for that illusion to remain intact.

Suzaku trembled, fighting back tears as he ducked his head, feeling Kasumi rest her head on his lap. "Euphy, I just don't understand. Why did you give that order?"

"Shall I tell you?"

He turned around, staring at the little boy standing behind him. "A child?"

Suzaku felt Kasumi jerk where she sat by his side. She moved around his chair, growling at the boy. "Not a child. Where's your daemon?"

The boy laughed. "I hardly think that's the right question to be asking?"

Suzaku stood up, putting a hand on Kasumi's head to keep her from lunging at the child. "How did you get onboard?"

"That's closer to the right question." Suzaku thought he saw a smile on the child's face. "How do you do, Suzaku Kururugi, you may call me V.V."

"V.V?"

The child nodded, clasping his hands together. "And I'm here to tell you about Geass."

"Geass?"

"Yes. It used to be called the Wish-Granter."

"I-I don't understand."

V.V. motioned for him to sit down, Suzaku following the order automatically. Kasumi still stood in front of him, the fur on her back still up. V.V. gave her a disdainful look before clearing his throat. "A Geass was a form of magic granted to a human by a witch that would give them a power, any kind of power in the world that would grant their deepest wish; that includes the power to control people."

V.V. gave Euphemia's corpse a long glance, Suzaku blinking and turning to stare at the princess. "Control people? Does this mean that Zero-" He cut himself off as he heard Kasumi snarl, turning around in time to see the Shikoku lunge at V.V. the child nimbly dodging out of the way.

The child made his way over to the door, smiling back at Suzaku before disappearing back into the hallway, Suzaku feeling himself begin to shake as Kasumi rushed after him. She stopped just in front of the door, looking back at Suzaku. "What are you waiting for? He's getting away."

"Euphemia wouldn't have killed those people." Kasumi froze, staring aback at him. He met her stare for a moment before gesturing at Euphemia's body. "Don't you see, Zero did something to her!"

Kasumi looked nervous, glancing out the door before shaking her head. "Let's go after that kid."

"No." Suzaku stood up, carefully picking up Euphemia's pin. "We're going after Zero."


	5. The Reveal

"Turn and face me, very slowly." Lelouch froze at the sound of Suzaku's voice, staring at the bullet hole in the stone in front of him. "Didn't you hear me, Zero? I said turn and face me."

Lelouch hesitated for a moment longer. He would have to take care of Suzaku now to get to Nunnally. His sister had to be somewhere on this island, it was just a matter of finding her. He cursed his own stupidity for not thinking to bring along his own clothes. Then he could have faked an injury on the left side of his face and had said that he and Nunnally had been captured by the Black Knights. Then he would have had Suzaku's help.

There was no point in thinking about what he could have done now. Lelouch gritted his teeth and turned around. "Euphemia randomly murdered throngs of innocent Japanese people. You'd fight for a woman like that?"

"Your Geass power is quite convenient isn't it?" Lelouch froze, watching as Suzaku walked up the steps, Kasumi cringing as his heels. The Shikoku couldn't quite seem to meet his gaze, glancing off in one direction only to stare fixedly at something in the shadows. Suzaku didn't seem to notice his daemons' distraction, calmly raising the gun to aim at Lelouch's forehead. "It's about as convenient as not having a daemon. No one can read you, not with that mask on."

Suzaku lowered his gun a fraction, tipping his head to the side. "Kallen, don't you want to know who this man really is?"

Lelouch jerked at the sound of his ace pilot's name, watching the girl walk out of the shadows, her daemon already perched on a nearby chunk of stone. He allowed himself to relax when he realized that Kallen was carrying a gun. She could provide enough of a distraction for him to pull out his own gun. Lelouch wasn't sure about his aim, but he was sure that he could incapacitate Suzaku for long enough for the two of them to escape.

He shifted his hand back to reach for his own gun, freezing when Suzaku raised his again, watching his friend through wide eyes. "It's time to find out."

"No, wait!"

He heard Kallen shout, his gaze drawn to the red fox that jumped up onto the platform, dashing across to him. Verisia slid to a stop in front of him, snarling at Suzaku and Kasumi as the bullet hit the top of his mask, cracking it in two.

Lelouch winced as a shard of the plastic scratched his forehead, feeling blood begin to run down his face even as the two halves of the mask fell to the floor.

The silence between the three of them was only broken by Kallen's gasp, the girl falling to her knees as she stared at him, her daemon immediately abandoning the high ground that it had gained to press himself against his human.

Lelouch spared a glance at her, his full attention going to Suzaku and Kasumi. He watched as Suzaku slowly shook his head, getting a glimpse of disappointment before the expression was gone, Suzaku's face painfully blank. "I didn't want it to be you."

He had to look away at that, his gaze falling on Kasumi, watching as the Shikoku whimpered and shook, glancing between himself and Verisia. Lelouch carefully controlled his expression, ignoring Kallen's questions as he watched Suzaku's daemon. "Now you know the truth."

"I should have arrested you when I had the chance."

Lelouch tipped his head to the side, watching Kasumi closely, waiting for her to meet his gaze. "You knew it was me?"

"I wasn't sure at first, so I convinced myself it wasn't true."

"I wasn't talking to you."

Suzaku blinked, staring at Lelouch before looking down at Kasumi, horror crossing his face. "K-Kasumi?"

"Yes." Kasumi pressed herself close to the floor. "I had guessed but…"

"When?"

She winced at Suzaku's demand. "I thought I smelled Lelouch at Narita. But I knew for sure on Kanimejima." She offered Lelouch a small wag of her tail. "You were careless after you rescued us, Lelouch."

Lelouch gave her a smile of his own. He had hidden his scent once, knowing that Kasumi would be able to recognize him by scent, but he hadn't bothered after that, mostly because he hadn't known Kasumi would be there. He hadn't known that the Britannians would be willing to stuff her and her human in a Knightmare just to win against him.

"You knew and you never told me!"

Kasumi immediately rolled onto her stomach, Lelouch's eyes widening as Suzaku turned the gun on his own daemon for a moment before pointing it back at Lelouch. Suzaku took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "You knew and you never told me? We could have saved Euphy."

"I didn't think he would do it, Suzaku. She was his sister."

"That wasn't enough to keep her safe! If he did that to Euphy, what makes you think that Nunnally would be safe?"

Kasumi whimpered, Lelouch taking the moment to step forward, Verisia keeping herself in front of him. "I would never hurt Nunnally."

"You killed Euphy."

"Well you killed your father!" Lelouch was rapidly losing his temper, giving up on watching Kasumi for cues. "What kind of standard are you holding me up to, Suzaku? We all can't be saints like you."

That made Suzaku flinch, Lelouch taking advantage of the time he had won. "Listen, Nunnally is in trouble, help me save her. Together, you and I can do anything. Just tell me who told you about Geass because they probably have Nunnally!"

He watched Suzaku tremble for a moment, his friend having to steady his gun with two hands before he managed to speak, Lelouch taking a step back from the vehemence in Suzaku's voice. "Nothing that happens now is any of your concern! You're very existence is a mistake; you need to be erased from the earth. I'll take care of Nunnally!"

Lelouch pulled his gun out before he was aware of it, watching as Verisia dashed across the space between him and Kasumi. With his gun trained on Suzaku, the soldier wouldn't bother to shoot at Verisia, he would leave that to Kasumi. But the Shikoku didn't look like she wanted to fight; she was looking between Lelouch and Verisia a pitiful expression on her face.

Finally Kasumi dropped her head, shaking even as Verisia leapt for her, Lelouch taking that moment to aim his gun right at Suzaku's forehead.

"Suzaku!"

"Lelouch!"


	6. Moments of Happiness

"Lelouch? I'm home!" The words still felt weird to say. Rolo shifted his hold on his bag, careful not to jostle it. Ileste would be mad at him if she was hit by his books.

He reached down to gently lift the flap on the bag, watching the bat blink up at him before she stretched with a yawn. Ileste crawled from the bag onto his arm, remaining there for a moment before continuing her journey to his shoulder, sprawling out in the shadow that his head cast. Rolo smiled and tilted his head to the side, allowing her to nuzzle his cheek before walking through the house. "Lelouch?"

Rolo felt his heart beat faster the longer he went without an answer. It was his job to watch Lelouch at home, but he couldn't find him. Usually Lelouch would have shouted for him, or at least left a message on his phone if he was still stuck with the student council or had decided to go out gambling. But Lelouch had promised that he would take Rolo the next time, especially after Lelouch had come back was a sprained ankle from having to jump over a wall to avoid an irritated nobleman.

"Ileste?"

"On it." She launched herself from Rolo's shoulder, heading upstairs. Rolo watched her go, turning to being a systematic check of all the rooms.

There were supposed to be people watching him at all times. They should have called if something had gone wrong.

Rolo took out his phone, smiling at the locket that dangled off the end of it before flipping it open to check for messages, frowning when there were none. That just meant that nothing was wrong. He snapped the phone shut and walked into the living room.

Lelouch was there, sprawled out on the couch with Verisia curled up on his chest and a book on his stomach. Rolo smiled to himself and walked over to stand beside Lelouch, turning around to motion for Ileste to be silent as she fluttered in, feeling the relief from his daemon as she saw their mark.

She landed on the back of his jacket, crawling up to his shoulder and peering down at the two of them. "We panicked."

"We did."

"We're out of practice."

"Badly." Rolo nodded slowly, not sure if that was a bad thing or not. It wasn't like they couldn't assassinate people anymore; they were just more prone to worry if Lelouch wasn't there. It didn't mean anything. Nothing at all.

"Rolo?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we pretend for a moment?" He turned to look at Ileste, watching as she jumped from his shoulder, gliding over to the sofa and grabbing a hold of it. She carefully maneuvered herself until she could drop onto Verisia without any risk of touching Lelouch. Ileste folded her wings around herself, snuggling into the fur of the fox. "Can we pretend that this is real?"

"Ileste…"

"Just for a moment." He watched her eyes slide shut, her sides heaving in a happy sigh.

Rolo couldn't deny her that, setting his schoolbag down on the floor before sitting next to it. He sat in silence for a moment before taking out his phone and playing with the locket, feeling a smile cross his face. He flicked the locket open, listening to the soft music that came from it, feeling Ileste's happiness through the bond.

There was movement from the couch, Rolo turning his head to watch as Lelouch shifted. "Mmm. Rolo?"

"Here, big brother."


	7. The Taste of Humiliation

He didn't look up from the pin that he carefully held in his hand, just watching as Kasumi perked up and took a step from his side. Suzaku bent his head, sighing as he closed is fingers around the pin.

Of course she would be happy to see him. She had hated that they had betrayed their friend for this position; so much so that they had argued for the first time in their lives. Kasumi had pointedly slept outside of his room for a month before Suzaku had been able to convince her to sleep inside with him. She had agreed, but only to curl up in a far corner and glare balefully at him until they both fell asleep. All because of that one fight…

_"Well if you like him so much, why don't you just join him? You knew it was him all along? Why didn't you?"_

_"I like him because you like him! We're the same, Suzaku!"_

Suzaku shook his head, watching as his daemon glanced back at him and immediately retreated back to his side. She didn't even look at him, staring at the ground as Lelouch and Verisia climbed up the final steps.

It took all of Suzaku's self control not to go up and punch Lelouch. He was only here because Kasumi had convinced him to meet with Lelouch. For Nunnally's sake, and for his own, he needed to see Lelouch.

"You're daring, showing your face here."

Suzaku watched Lelouch open his mouth to answer, only to stop, Lelouch shaking his head. "I made a promise to a friend."

"A friend?"

"Suzaku, please-"

"No, I don't want you to speak Lelouch." Suzaku expected Kasumi to growl at him, surprised when his daemon continued to stare at the ground. His stomach turned at that, somewhere along the line he had managed to break the both of them. Suzaku shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. "I just want you to answer my questions."

"But you-Alright Suzaku."

"Did you use your Geass on Euphy?"

"Yes."

"You commanded her to kill all of the Japanese?"

"Yes."

"Why?" The question came from Kasumi, the Shikoku looking up from the ground and nearly sobbing the word out.

Lelouch barely glanced at her. "Because she was going to ruin it all. If her plan succeeded, the Black Knights would have dissolved and all my plans would have failed. So I used her."

"And Shirley?"

"She knew too much, so I had Rolo kill her."

Suzaku chuckled. "You're a monster, you know that?"

To his surprise, Lelouch just shot him a sideways look before going back to staring at the ground. "If you say I am." Lelouch sighed and knelt on the ground, Verisia lying on her back beside him and exposing her stomach. Suzaku watched them both warily. "But that doesn't matter right now. All I'm asking for is Nunnally's safety. Please, Suzaku, I've never knelt to anyone before."

"Like you really care?"

That got the rise out of Lelouch that he was looking for. "What?"

"Nunnally is safer now than before."

"No, she's still in danger. Our father is still alive and he can still use her against me."

Suzaku frowned, clipping Euphemia's symbol back to his jacket. "Is that all you care about, your little war? Do you even care about what Nunnally wants?"

"Of course. I'm doing all of this for her."

Kasumi whined, getting up on her feet and shaking her head. "No, Lelouch, she doesn't want this. She doesn't want people dying." Suzaku shivered at the pain that was coming from her side of their bond, restraining himself from dropping down and hugging her. Kasumi needed to do this on her own. "She doesn't want anything but you in her world. Why don't you understand that?"

"S-she wants a kinder world."

"With you in it!" Kasumi went so say something else, but just dissolved into growls.

Suzaku took the moment to step up to his daemon, resting a hand on her head and feeling her tremble. He waited a moment, gently rubbing her head before turning his attention on Lelouch again. It was a struggle to keep his anger when Kasumi was so distressed, but Suzaku managed it. "What's her daemon, Lelouch?"

"A crane."

"No. It's a red panda."

Lelouch's head jerked up, the look of shock on his face almost comical. "But Asri settled. She told me he settled."

"She told you that because she didn't want you to worry about her. He settled during the year she was away from you."

"N-no, he's a crane."

Kasumi moved from her place beside Suzaku, walking over and sitting in front of Lelouch, careful not to touch him or his daemon. Suzaku stood and watched her, sure that he couldn't get so close to Lelouch without wanting to harm him. It wouldn't be so easy for him to forgive Lelouch, Kasumi was better at that than him.

She raised a paw like she was going to put it on top of one of his hands before carefully putting it back down. "Lelouch, why are you doing this?"

"To obliterate Britannia, to find out who killed my mother, for…" Lelouch trailed off before shaking his head, letting his hair drop over his eyes. "Please just protect-"

"Bring them back then." Suzaku watched as Lelouch looked up at him, Lelouch's eyes wide. "Bring all of them back, even Euphy."

"Suzaku, he can't."

"He's Zero the miracle maker, Kasumi, he should be able to."

"It was…never miracles." Lelouch was sitting back slowly, pulling Verisia into his lap and holding her close. "It was just my Geass and careful planning. I'd bring them back if I could, but I can't change the past Suzaku."

Suzaku narrowed his eyes. He recognized that expression, the same look that came in with bottling up a lie. He had seen it on his father's face. And Lelouch…Lelouch was still lying to him. But the real problem was if Lelouch was telling the truth or just what Suzaku wanted to hear.

A whine from Kasumi brought his attention back to the boy kneeling on the ground, suddenly struck by how familiar Lelouch's position looked. It was how Lelouch had looked seven years ago, after Suzaku had punched him. He had run away after Nunnally had spoken to him, deciding to hide in the bushes to figure out why he had felt so guilty. Lelouch had knelt just like that, smiling and answering Nunnally's questions, but his hands had been shaking as he held Verisia.

Suzaku carefully knelt down beside, Kasumi waiting for Lelouch to raise his eyes before speaking. "Then you have to make your lies truth. Become what you've proclaimed yourself to be. Then, I'll help you."

"For Nunnally's sake?"

He glanced at Kasumi, catching the small shake of her head. She didn't want him to do this just for Nunnally, despite the hurt she still felt from being lied to. And some part of him still wanted to try, really wanted to try to make this work.

So he smiled and ignored the question, holding out his hand for Lelouch's. Lelouch pulled his hand from Verisia to reach for Suzaku's, Suzaku changing his mind at the last minute.

He wanted this promise to be lasting, something that he couldn't forget when his anger came back and Kasumi wasn't around to keep him steady. And he wanted to make sure Lelouch would remember it, that he wouldn't be able to shrug this promise off like he had the others. So Suzaku avoided Lelouch's outstretched hand and let his own hand hover over Verisia's head. "Only if you mean it."

Lelouch stared at him in horror; Suzaku knowing that what he was asking was taboo. To touch another's daemon was the ultimate violation of their person, rape coming as a close second. But, then again, it was well known that lovers often touched each other's daemons to bring pleasure. It was a contradiction, an exercise in extremes. Just like the two of them.

"Suzaku…I…" Lelouch was glancing between Verisia and Suzaku's hand, clutching her close to him. "You're asking too much."

"No." Verisia spoke up for the first time, not glancing back at Lelouch as she inched forward. "He's asking just enough." She stared at Suzaku for a moment before pressing the top of her head against his hand.

Suzaku blinked at the soft feeling of fur under his hand, only recognizing that for a moment before he felt calm. It was calm and safe and it reminded him of the pleasant days at Ashford when he hadn't known Lelouch was Zero or even further back when they were both ten and they had been the best of friends. And, most importantly, it was _Lelouch_.

He looked up at his friend, dropping his gaze to Lelouch's hand as it hesitantly moved over the ground to reach out for Kasumi, stopping inches away from her fur. Lelouch gave Suzaku one last look before lowering his hand.

But it never got there, Lelouch pulling away as a bullet pinged off the stone beside him.


	8. Like a Bird

They had always through that Ileste would be a bird when she settled. She had always taken on bird forms when he had been a kid. Rolo could only think of one instance when she had been something other than a bird, and that was when she had crawled into a pipe to find their mark as a mouse. The other kids in the Geass Order had teased him, about his defective Geass and his daemon, because birds were not always the best forms to use when he was assassinating people. But she had been happy and he had liked to watch her fly.

It had been a disappointment when she had settled.

Rolo remembered being woken up by a wave of distress from Ileste, holding her close as she cried and apologized for failing him. She wasn't a bird; she didn't have the beautiful plumage that they both loved so much. She was just a bat, a nondescript looking bat.

He had only pointed out that at least she could still fly.

And the teasing had continued, although it wasn't the kid's fault this time. They didn't mean to point out Ileste's failure, they just asked if she could change into one of those bright colored birds that had entertained them before and Rolo had to admit that she was settled now. Ileste had always shrunk against his neck at that, and she had never gotten over the sense that she had failed him somehow.

It was something that had always mattered between the two of them. Rolo would go out of his way to prove that it didn't really matter what form Ileste had taken, because it didn't. She was important to him as a bird or a bat. And Ileste had always gone out of her way to make sure she was as useful as possible. Their relationship had turned from nearly perfect to one where they barely spoke to each other because Ileste's settled form would always come up.

Then they had been assigned to Lelouch and then it had suddenly stopped mattering.

Rolo didn't bother to look away from the controls when the cockpit opened, feeling Ileste take a stronger hold of his shoulder as Lelouch and Verisia clambered in. "Using your Geass over such a large area, it's too much. Your heart can't take that much strain."

He ignored Lelouch, Ileste whispering the number of oncoming Knightmares as he tried to plot out a route while setting up the Absolute Defense Shield. When he had saved Lelouch, he had just thought far enough ahead to get away safely. Now they needed a place to hide, but that would be hard with the Black Knights and the Britannians after them. But he would do it.

"That's enough, Rolo, I don't want to live anymore."

Rolo shook his head, taking a deep breath as he activated his Geass. "I won't stop, because of this."

"Stop do-"

He felt Ileste crawling down his arm, trying to situate herself so that she could help him and stay close to Verisia. "All through our lives, people have used us like tools."

"-ing this Rolo! Why are you still trying-"

"We were used by the order." He glanced over at Ileste for a moment, tightening his grip on the controls.

"-to save me? You know that-"

Ileste spoke up then. "And then Lelouch used us."

Rolo gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, maybe he was using us from the very start but, only the time we spent with him seemed real."

"-I was only us-"

Ileste was nodding now, her movements slowing down as his heart skipped painfully. Rolo took a hand from the controls to brush his fingers over her back. "It was those memories…that finally made us…human."

"Yeah…" Ileste trailed off, staring at Verisia. "I liked it. I wish…"

"Me too."

"-ing you!" He coughed and leaned forward, feeling his heart attempt to get back into rhythm. He heard Lelouch lean forward, his brother's hand resting on his arm for a moment. "Rolo!"

Rolo turned to look at Lelouch, panting for breath. He felt Ileste weakly dig her claws into his arm, her signal that she was alright. But they both knew it was a lie. He glanced up, frowning at the airship that hovered over them. There was no way that they were going to get around it without his Geass, which meant.

"Ileste…"

She nodded slowly. "All the way."

"Right." Rolo smiled, swallowing as he focused on the airship, attempting to activate his Geass. It was harder this time, his control slipping in and out of his grasp. "That's why we're not…we're not…"

"No! Stop using your Geass like that! Do you want to die?"

He finally got it to work, Rolo panting for breath as he fumbled for the sequences of buttons that would fire the cannon on the front of the Shinkiro. "That's why…we're not a tool…We do this…of our own…free will…as a human being!"

Rolo blacked out for a moment sometime while they were pulling away from the destroyed airship, the small prick of pain as Ileste clung to him the only thing that kept him from panicking. He had to just keep breathing. He could ignore the pain in his chest and the way his vision kept blurring. But he couldn't ignore it forever; he had to make sure that he landed the Knightmare safely. It would be a waste to come all of this way only to crash and kill Lelouch.

"Small clearing…should be big enough…" Ileste looked up at him, her eyes dim. "No one will look."

He didn't bother answering, guiding the Knightmare towards the indicated. He gently pushed the Shinkiro through the trees, settling the Knightmare down on the ground before opening the cockpit. He needed air; it was too stuffy in here. He couldn't breathe.

Rolo let his head fall back against the seat, raising one hand to gently rest it over Ileste to stop her trembling. He licked his lips, trying to speak to her, but he didn't have the breath to do it. Instead, he tipped his head back up towards the sky, trying to draw in air around the painful pressure on his chest.

A soft touch to his face brought him back to the present, trying to focus on Lelouch's face even though it was so close to his. "Rolo, why did you save me after all I've done to you?"

"Because you're a liar, big brother." Lelouch stared at him in shock, Rolo wanting to laugh but the sound coming out more like a wheeze.

Ileste nodded slowly from her place on his arm. "It was a lie. I know it was."

Lelouch hesitated, staring at him before nodding, a smile crossing his face. "Of course, and you saw right through me, didn't you? Just what I'd expect from my little brother."

"Good." Rolo coughed again, feeling Ileste shift in discomfort. He frowned at that, he had always taken good care of Ileste. She shouldn't ever be uncomfortable, even in times like this. "Big brother, my locket…"

Lelouch held up his phone, Rolo watching the white locket dangle in the sunlight. "Yeah, could you open it? I-Ileste likes the lullaby. We…we listened to it…e-every night…"

Lelouch froze holding the locket, staring at them. "Every night?"

"Ileste likes it."

"Alright." Lelouch flicked the locket open, Rolo relaxing as the soft melody drifted out.

He felt Ileste sigh against his arm, gently stroking her back with his fingers. "Thank you, big brother…"

* * *

Lelouch let the lullaby run through two more times after Rolo had stopped breathing and Ileste had dissolved into golden dust. He only shut it then, reaching out to place the phone by Rolo's hand. He hesitated before gently straightening Rolo's hair before sitting back.

Verisia nudged his hand, Lelouch turning to look at his daemon. "I…"

"I know. I did too."


	9. The Pact

Lelouch stared up at the grey walls that had once been a beautiful sunset, Verisia still perched on his shoulder and shivering. He reached up to pet her, belatedly remembering that he was still wearing gloves. Carelessly, he stripped one off, pushing his bare fingers into Verisia's fur. "C.C. are you going as well?"

"When death comes you at least want to be smiling, right?" He tried to glare at Coresin out of the corner of his eye, Verisia turning around to snarl at C.C's daemon.

C.C. didn't bother to admonish her daemon, Lelouch hearing the rustle of feathers as C.C. petted the crow. "And you two, what are you two planning to do now? You rejected Charles' plan, instead you chose reality and the forward march of time. However-"

"I know. Lelouch is the person that murdered Euphy."

"Suzaku," Kasumi admonished.

Lelouch turned to face his friend before the Shikoku could finish telling him off, glaring at Suzaku. "What of it?"

Suzaku only managed to hold his gaze for a moment before looking at the ground, Lelouch guessing that he couldn't bear to see the mark of the Geass in both of Lelouch's eyes. Lelouch glanced down at Verisia, quickly checking her over to make sure that she had suffered no ill effects from the advancement of his Geass.

There was still no visible mark on the fox, not like the patch of red feathers that Coresin had on his forehead, corresponding with the mark of the Code on C.C.'s forehead. That was good at least; he wouldn't have to worry about Verisia suddenly becoming too recognizable, although that didn't matter any longer. Zero wasn't a viable option anymore.

He looked over at Suzaku, impatient with his friend's stalling. "What of it, Suzaku?"

"You killed her."

"And nothing can change that." Lelouch glared at him, lifting his hand from Verisia. "I told you that before. But I promise you that I will make people forget the Massacre Princess."

Suzaku looked up briefly before looking down again. In the end, it was Kasumi who approached him, the Shikoku carefully just avoiding his gaze. "How?"

Lelouch glanced down at her. "Was that promise at the shrine just as fake as your promise to come alone?"

"Lelouch that…" The sword finally dropped to the ground, Suzaku turning around to look at him. "I didn't know they had followed me there. I didn't mean to betray you."

"This time?"

Suzaku tensed at that before nodding. "I didn't mean to betray you this time."

"We didn't want to betray you the first time." Kasumi inched closer to him, this time actually meeting his gaze. "We were just so angry and confused that…it went out of control."

"Kasumi, don't apologize for that."

"Why shouldn't I?" She turned around to glare at her human. "Why shouldn't I apologize to our friend? I'm sick of this, Suzaku. If you want to live out the rest of your life like this, then fine. But I am tired of this guilt and hatred. I just want it to go back to the way it was before!"

Suzaku shook his head. "It can never go back."

"Suzaku-"

"He's right, Kasumi. We chose the future, so the world will move forward."

"But we can move on, right?" She was staring at him again, Lelouch feeling Verisia lean forward. "We can move on."

"If Suzaku wants it." He would give Suzaku that choice.

Suzaku continued to avoid his gaze, finally sinking down to sit on the ground. Kasumi immediately walked over to him, slipping her head under his arm. "Lelouch, I-"

"We've betrayed each other, I know that." Lelouch walked over, stopping a short distance away from Suzaku. He didn't want to loom over Suzaku now; he wanted them to be equals, if only for this short moment. "It may be too much to completely trust each other, but I'm not asking for that. I'm asking for your help."

Suzaku looked up at him, frowning. Lelouch could almost see the wheels in Suzaku's head turning, his friend trying to work out his motivation for the deal this time. Nunnally was dead now, Lelouch's throat still clogged up at that thought, and that had been his motivation before.

"Lelouch, why-"

"I'm attempting to rebuild the world, to give them a future that won't be soaked in blood. I'll give them a person to hate and scorn, so much so that the memory of the Massacre Princess will be obliterated. And I'll give you what you want. I'll give you an explanation and then a chance for you to die."

Suzaku looked up abruptly at that. "Lelouch…"

Lelouch knelt down beside Suzaku, gently placing Verisia on the floor beside him. "I've only knelt for one person and I've begged you for help twice, a third time might do me physical harm." Lelouch allowed himself to smile. "Now, is it a deal?"

Suzaku glanced around the ruined thought elevator, clearly buying time. Lelouch smiled and held out his hand, waiting for Suzaku to notice it. He didn't know quite how he would change the world completely, that would have to come later after he was secure on his father's throne. As for his promise to allow Suzaku to die, that would also have to wait. He could work it out, but only if Suzaku helped him of his own free will. He wouldn't try to force Suzaku into this.

Suzaku finally looked back at him, reaching for Lelouch's hand before pulling back. "What do you want me to do?"

"Be my knight." The words slipped out of his mouth so easily. "Help me take the throne of Britannia."

"And from there?"

"I'll figure it out."

That got a laugh from Suzaku, the sound almost close to the true laugh that he had missed so much. "Of course you will."

Suzaku slapped his palm into Lelouch's and shook. Lelouch smiled and tightened his grasp on Suzaku's hand, using the grip to get to his feet as Verisia allowed herself to be picked up and carried by Kasumi towards the exit.


	10. Re

It was one of the worst sounds that Suzaku had ever heard in his life, a crowd cheering for a murder.

Because it was what he was now, there was no denying it.

Lelouch might have come up with the plan, but Suzaku had agreed to it, because it was easier to just imagine this as his own personal revenge against Lelouch for killing Euphy. And Lelouch had kept his promise, all of it.

And Suzaku had acted as Lelouch's sword until the end, until the moment they had died. Because he was sure that he had finally died up on that platform listening to the cheers from the crowd and Nunnally's heart wrenching sobs.

To make it worse, he hadn't been able to leave. He had sheathed his sword and stumbled down from the platform to help the people free the hostages. He had accepted the slaps on his back and the congratulations. He had watched as Jeremiah had assisted the few loyal to Lelouch carry the emperor's body away and felt himself finally die completely.

He stumbled into the wall just outside of his room, clutching the edges of his cape as he tried to breathe. It was too close in the mask and it still smelled like _him_.

Suzaku turned and frantically typed in the code for the door. He had to keep it locked to prevent anyone from getting in, and Kasumi from getting out. They couldn't have Kasumi out roaming the streets because he was supposed to have died two months ago. And they hadn't been sure that she would be able to hold herself back. Suzaku himself had been unsure if he'd actually be able to stab Lelouch up until the act itself.

The door slid open, Suzaku stumbling in and nearly ripping off the mask. He let it tumble to the floor, scrambling at the clasp for the cloak and letting it crumple to the floor behind him before he fell to his knees.

Kasumi had jumped off the bed when he had walked into the room, taking the moment to run into his arms. Suzaku was almost knocked over by her, managing to keep his balance as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face into her fur. He thought that he had cried all he could while he had been helping the people, finding the time to go off by himself and try and calm down. But, back with Kasumi, the tears came again. "I…I…"

"I know. But we promised." Suzaku tightened his hold on her, hearing her whimper as she rested her muzzle on his shoulder. "We made him a promise."

"Fulfilled it." His voice was muffled by her fur.

Kasumi nodded. "We did…we did."

"I'm dead…"

Kasumi pulled away from him a fraction, licking the tears from his cheeks. "You don't need me then."

"No. I'll always need you." He tried to smile, the expression wavering part of the way through. Suzaku ended up clutching at her again. "Don't leave."

"Never. Never." Kasumi remained silent for a while, letting Suzaku cry against her.

He didn't know how long they remained on the floor. He got up eventually, walking over to the bed and flopping down on it. Kasumi followed him over, curling up by his side. Suzaku stared at the ceiling for a while before gently petting her head, Kasumi leaning into the caress.

When he pulled his hand back, she opened her eyes. "Suzaku, did you like Lelouch?"

He was taken aback for a moment, Suzaku staring at her before smiling slowly. "He was my best friend."


	11. Ad Infinitum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a small offering for the people who want a happy ending to all of this. Personally, I believe that Lelouch died at the end of the series. But I also fondness for happy endings.

Lelouch watched as Verisia popped up above the long grass again, the fox disappearing only to reappear a bit further out. He smiled to himself and pushed himself off the ground so he could lean back against the tree. "Stop tormenting those mice, Verisia."

He didn't get a reply from his daemon. Lelouch shifted into a more comfortable position, watching as she made her way back through the grass toward him, crawling up into his lap. He reached down to pet her, staring out at the field of long grass in front of them.

"They should be here by now."

Lelouch laughed at his daemon's impatience. "They're the keystones of the government. It's very possible that they got held up."

"But they promised!"

"And C.C. promises to stop leaving pizza boxes all over the house." Lelouch shrugged, trying to ignore the angry stare that was directed his way.

"They're not the same. And while you're at it, get that damn crow to stop trying to steal fur from my tail."

Lelouch chuckled. "I'll try my best. But you know the two of them."

"Impossible." Verisia rolled her eyes before shifting so she could watch the road. Lelouch went back to leaning back against his tree, closing his eyes. Verisia would warn him if he needed to duck back down again, but there was little chance of people coming this way. They had chosen this place specifically because it was so deserted. It was the only way that they had been able to live like this.

Who would look for the dead Demon Emperor and his witch hidden in a forest of Area 11, living in a small house?

Lelouch grunted as Verisia used his stomach as a springboard, the fox gasping and running toward the road. Lelouch gave his daemon an irritated look, rubbing his stomach as he stood up.

He could just see the cart making its way out of the woods that surrounded their little field, Lelouch shading his eyes with one hand. He caught a glimpse of Verisia on another one of her leaps, shaking his head and starting to wade through the long grass.

It had been a struggle to get to this point, Lelouch spending many sleepless nights to trying and figure out how to fake the death of a daemon in public only to have to resort to a trick, hoping that the audience would be too busy watching the emperor to notice that his daemon had disappeared completely before he was even stabbed.

Then there had been the awkward explanations to Nunnally and Suzaku. He had gotten punched twice, one from each of them, when they had first seen him. Neither Suzaku nor Kasumi had talked to him for the entirety of that first visit, both of them preferring to walk through the woods from the moment they woke up to when they thought that the rest of the house was asleep. Nunnally had remained quiet for two days before she had started speaking at him, refusing to look at him the entire time she filled him in on what happened in the days after his 'death'.

They had both left on the fourth day of their visit, leaving Lelouch to mope around the house and, later when C.C. had gotten sick of him and kicked him out, the field. He had only cheered up when Nunnally had sent him a letter formally apologizing to him for her behavior and asking when they could visit again.

The second visit he had only gotten punched once and Nunnally had been able to hold his gaze.

He caught up to the cart, pulling himself into the back and catching Verisia when she jumped in after him. He only got to hold the fox for a moment before she rushed towards where Kasumi and Asri were curled up on Nunnally's luggage, the three touching noses before settling down to talk excitedly amongst themselves, probably sharing gossip about what was happening in the world.

Lelouch rolled his eyes and turned to look up at Suzaku, his friend giving him a wave before turning his attention back to the horse that was pulling them. Nunnally gestured for him to come sit up front with them, Lelouch smiling before scrambling over the bags.

He was squished between Suzaku and Nunnally, Lelouch elbowing Suzaku in the side to get him to scoot over. Suzaku grunted, shooting Lelouch a glare before shaking his head. Nunnally just laughed and leaned on Lelouch's shoulder. "Be nice."

"I am. He was just taking up more than his share of the bench."

"Not all of us can be a stick, Lelouch."

Lelouch rolled his eyes, twisting to pick Verisia up from her place in the back, settling her on his lap. She bounced eagerly as they came towards the small house that was their home, Lelouch shaking his head and stroking her. His eyes dropped to the tips of the red mark that ran across her throat, matching the one that he had around his neck.

He ignored the mark for now. For the sake of Nunnally's smiles, he would bear it; the mark and the horrible tedium with of the days when he only had C.C. for company. He was immortal now; he could spare the lifetime just to give Nunnally her wish, a kinder world with him in it.

END


End file.
